ALVIS

Chapter 14: Alone

 

Cutscene: Mahri Nui… but not Mahri Nui

 

Matoro hurtled through interdimensional space. All around him, portals flared into being or dissipated, though some stayed put. All seemed to be connected to one huge portal ahead of him, one with a blinding white glow emanating from inside. It was drawing him in, and he felt some feeling of inner peace… but then tore himself away. He still had a mission - find the Mask of Life and right the wrongs here.

 

With a mighty heave, Matoro threw himself into a side portal. He felt his very being turned inside out by the energies of space-time… and then he was someplace new.

 

He landed safely on his feet. Behind him, the portal he'd fallen out of closed with a pop. He sprang to his feet and examined the area around him.

 

"Mahri Nui," he breathed. "From the inside. A perspective I never got to enjoy. I wonder…"

 

Tensing, Matoro stuck his head out of the air bubble, into the waters. He could still breathe.

 

"Whoa," he whispered. "Amphibious? How'd that happen?"

 

Pulling himself back inside the city, he turned around to survey the street with more detail - and gasped.

 

The streets were not streets… the buildings not buildings. It was all one huge, technological structure, much as Metru Nui… but more sinister by far.

 

"What…?" he wondered aloud. It was then that he realized another eerie truth… the city was silent. Absolutely silent.

 

"It doesn't matter what happened here," Matoro told himself, "only that I get the mask back. This was close to where I last had it, right? So it's got to be around here somewhere…"

 

With renewed determination, the Toa of Ice ran into the deserted city.

 

*insert level: Aquatic Laboratory. Music: "Aquatic Base level 1" SONIC 06. New enemies: Subdimensional guards and troops. Other enemies limited to Nektann, Vahki, and reprogrammed Bohrok. There is no life in this Mahri Nui, aside from Matoro.*

 

Cutscene: The Laboratory's Fortress

 

Matoro leapt at a hovering guard droid, landing on top of it. In one fluid motion, he plunged his claws deep into its central sphere and landed safely on the ground again. He scanned the area. There were no more visible enemies… but that was no reason to let his guard down.

 

Still poised for battle, Matoro edged towards a prominent building with huge double doors set into its iron wall.

 

Matoro ran into a side alley. Better to approach discreetly than to ram down the doors (though he could certainly do that). From there, he jumped off the walls of the buildings until he reached a small ledge in the larger one. Smashing in the window, he quickly leapt in and ducked beneath the security lasers.

 

*insert level: Laboratory Fortress. Music: The Master Tape (I linked to that earlier in this section). New enemies: Baterra.*

 

Cutscene: The Brotherhood's Affiliate

 

Matoro peered through the grate. The central command room of the lab was certainly in there… but wait! A lone figure sat in a large chair, almost a throne, bent over a computer.

 

Decorating the room were tons of artifacts: mechanical pieces, vials of chemicals (among them antidermis and energized protodermis, Matoro noted), ancient maps, fabled treasures lost to thieves over the centuries, and monitors displaying many different scenes in the compound - from the Mahri Nui streets to graphs, charts, progress bars, and a few simply displaying the Kanohi Kraahkan. Whoever ran this place was surely an affiliate of the Brotherhood… if not its own leader, the Makuta.

 

Satisfied that the being in the chair was alone, Matoro tore the grate out and leapt onto the floor, instantly training his Cordak Blaster on the figure…

 

*STAGE CLEAR reward: None.*

Omega, if you're connecting this aquatic laboratory to my The Laboratory (which I'm absolutely sure you're doing), that's okay, but don't resolve any of this mystery, particularly the master of the lab. That's for me to decide. Since that leaves you out of a writing job since Matoro's worked himself into this sort of dead end, I'll assign Lewa-Kopaka to you. (2Tie never did much with them.)

Chapter 15: Shadow of a Frown

 

Cutscene: Another Detour

 

"Dealing with those enemies was too easy," Smiley panted. "This must be a traaaaaaaaappp…"

 

As he spoke, the floor beneath him evaporated, dropping him through an empty chute at least ten stories long. Just before he hit the ground, though, he activated his powers of shielding and bounced harmlessly off.

 

"Why isn't my flight power working, or strength?" he wondered. "At least my speed still works perfectly." As he finished, his form became a blur and he covered the whole corridor before him in an instant.

 

"And intangibility," he noted, passing harmlessly through a wall.

 

"Well, I can perform a longer checkup later. First, I have to stop that shadow," he decided.

 

*insert level: The Laboratory. The laboratory in this level is darker than earlier. New enemies: None.*

 

Cutscene: The Angry Shadow

 

"You! Stop your masquerade before I stop you!" Smiley bellowed at his shadowy doppelganger.

 

"Why should I listen to you?" the shadow sneered. "Having drained your powers into my form, I'm far more powerful - especially serving the Makuta!"

 

"Come and fight, then!" Smiley replied.

 

"As you wish," the shadow hissed, leaping down from his perch upon a filing cabinet. "Now I shall cut all ties to my former life and join Makuta in victory!"

 

*insert standard brawl: Smiley vs. Smiley (in shadow costume). Single-stock.*

 

Cutscene: The Chase Begins

 

The shadow fell to the ground, battered but still not beaten. Immediately, he leapt up again to dodge Smiley's attack, and flew through a wall. Smiley pursued.

 

*insert level: The Laboratory. Goal: Catch up with Shadow Smiley, whom you occasionally see setting off security systems. New enemies: None.*

 

Cutscene: Cut to the Chase

 

The shadow melted through a door. Smiley followed, finding himself in a huge, empty chamber.

 

"Let's see you escape from here," his doppelganger cackled from every dark corner of the room. Immediately, energy shields coated the walls, ceiling, and floor - the only substance Smiley couldn't travel through.

 

"Well, let's try this again," Smiley grinned.

 

"Meaning I can beat you without mercy," the shadow growled, forming from the darkness behind the minifigure.

 

*insert standard brawl: Smiley vs. Smiley (in shadow costume). Triple-stock.*

 

Cutscene: The Shadow is Down

 

The dark Smiley lay on the ground, staring up at his light form. "You realize, you can't beat me. You don't have the guts."

 

"Too late," Smiley said. "I just have."

 

"Not just yet," the shadow grinned, and exploded into dark shreds of energy. Those, too, faded away… and so did the energy walls.

 

"I'll have to find him later," Smiley sighed. "He's probably headed back to this master of his, the Makuta…"

 

Suddenly, he felt power course through his form - he'd regained the powers his shadow stole from him. "Well, at least there's some good news today," he grinned.

 

After all his problems, his smile never faltered, though of late he hadn't been too happy with life.

 

"I guess I should find a way out of -"

 

"SECURITY TO SECTOR B-5!" a mechanical voice bellowed from the intercom. "SECURITY TO SECTOR B-5!"

 

"Looks like they found someone else in the lab," Smiley noted. "Hope it's not anyone I know, but this is the perfect distraction to blow this popsicle stand."

 

*STAGE CLEAR reward: None.*

Chapter 12: Talos

 

Cutscene: Mechanical Master

 

It had been a few hours since the two Toa had departed. In that time, the Dark Hunter known as Talos had been very busy.

 

First, he had to calm down the multitudes of Dark Hunters, tensed for a fight and steaming that two Toa got away from their island base. (Though they had recently allied with the Order, old habits stuck.) Then, he was shoved onto a group of Hunters to clean up the fallen bodies of all the enemies that had climbed out of these strange portals.

 

Now, finally, he was back where he belonged: in his own laboratory, working on a device to shut down dimensional portals so that none of this ever happened again. His personal helper drone stood by, ready to aid him in his building.

 

"How much longer, Virus?" Talos asked of the small droid.

 

The small grey robot looked over to his creator and replied: "This technology is far more advanced than our standards… even your own level. I still wonder how you managed to modify the other device - I believe your powers only work on devices you understand?"

 

Talos grinned. "In all honesty, if the makers of that device are going to go and clearly label everything on it, it's not difficult to figure it out."

 

He turned to Virus now. "But that definitely doesn't insinuate my inferiority to these manufacturers. After all, I did build you and my arm, which I might add works smoothly and fluently - definitely the highest standard of technology in this universe." To prove his point, he activated the shapeshifting power of his prosthetic limb, morphing it into a mace and swinging rather aimlessly around the lab. Virus ducked to avoid a premature decapitation.

 

Suddenly, an earsplitting bang ripped through the air - even as a dimensional crack opened in the wall. Talos cursed himself as enemies spewed out of it.

 

"This is more than I can hold off," he cried. "We need to get out of here… and now."

 

*insert level: Odina. Playable characters: Talos. (Player 2 can be Talos, too.) New enemies: Elite Skrall.*

 

Cutscene: A Dark Hunter Down

 

A fellow Dark Hunter smirked at Talos as he rushed down the hallway. "Gotten scared, Talos?" he jabbed.

 

"Even you, arrogant fool, can't beat them all off," Talos yelled back. "After you're done dying, maybe you can close the portals and destroy the Brotherhood of Makuta while you're at it!"

 

The other Dark Hunter guffawed. "Still not exactly done with that, are you?"

 

Without waiting for a reply, the warrior raised his weapon and charged in the opposite direction, bellowing a war cry. As he neared the corner, Talos gave him one last, sorrowful look.

 

"Still not exactly done yet, are you?" would be the last words that Dark Hunter ever spoke to anyone.

 

Cutscene: A Small Gun for a Big Problem

 

"Status: completed," Virus buzzed. "All you have to do is point it at a portal and fire. It should fold in on itself, closing almost immediately. Basically, this gun is the stitches for a wounded reality."

 

"You're a life saver, Virus," Talos grinned. "I'll go solve our portal problem now."

 

Standing outside the room with a horde of enemies rushing towards him, Virus locked safely inside, Talos began to wonder which one of these levers was the trigger…

 

*insert level: Odina. Playable characters: Talos. Special: Player 1 wields an Anti-Portal Gun, an item that can close portals but does minimal damage to enemies. Goal: Close every portal with the Anti-Portal Gun. New enemies: None.*

 

Cutscene: Welcome Back

 

"That's the last of them," Talos panted. As he spoke, a new portal ripped through the wall.

 

"NOT AGAIN!" the Dark Hunter shrieked, aiming the Anti-Portal Gun at it.

 

"Wait… don't shoot! It's me!" a familiar voice cried.

 

Talos lowered the gun to see Toa Pohatu climbing out of the portal. "Ah! Pohatu, welcome back. How went your search for Tuma? And… err… where is Onua?"

 

Pohatu's breath came in ragged heaves. "That is exactly it… We found Tuma alright. Onua was captured… by his soldiers, some freakish aliens with bladed shoulders… we need to rescue him."

 

"That we do," Talos replied, "but could we get this portal closed first? I've had a lot of bad experiences with these things of late."

 

"No, I need it to get back -" Pohatu began, but was interrupted as a bomb flew out of the portal and over their heads, exploding in the distance. The dying screams of Dark Hunters rang through the air.

 

Grim determination on his face, Talos blasted the offending portal with all his might. Then he glared at Pohatu.

 

"Sorry," the Toa said sheepishly.

 

"It doesn't matter. Now let's see if we can help any survivors," Talos grunted.

 

*STAGE CLEAR reward: Talos the Dark Hunter joins your team.*

Chapter 13: Much Too Happy

 

Cutscene: A New Arrival

 

"Almost there!" Smiley smiled to himself as he hurtled through time and space. He was on the trail of some dark shadow, an evil copy of himself forged by his enemies.

 

He felt as if this strange, purple, pulsating tunnel went on forever. It probably did, given the oddities that had happened recently. He saw a light up ahead and aimed for it. A blinding flash enveloped him… then he smashed face-first into smooth, hard ground.

 

"Well, that wasn't expected," Smilery said to himself as he got up. "Ouch. Now, where am I?"

 

*insert level: The Laboratory. Playable characters: Smiley (but without the use of his sword). Level ends at an elevator. New enemies: Maelstrom, maybe? Definitely some LEGO ones.*

 

Cutscene: Queen of the Visorak

 

Smiley hummed merrily to himself as the elevator descended. As its doors slid open, he noticed someone standing in the center of the room.

 

"Who are you? Why are you here?" her voice came, whipping around Smiley's head with malice dripping from it. The minifigure didn't answer.

 

"Doesn't matter," Roodaka hissed, "I can crush you all the same."

 

*insert standard brawl: Smiley vs. Roodaka in a single-stock battle.*

 

Cutscene: Never a Weakling

 

Roodaka's Rhotuka spinner hurtled towards Smiley. The minifigure remained absolutely still, his smile never faltering. As it drew within inches, an invisible wall knocked it straight backwards. The Vortixx had to fling herself out of the way as her own weapon nearly struck her. She landed hard on the ground.

 

"Stop trying to fight me and get up," Smiley grinned, extending a helpful hand.

 

"Ah, but that would be a sign of submission," Roodaka hissed.

 

"So…?" Smiley asked.

 

"So that's not happening," Roodaka grinned. "I am Roodaka, Queen of the Visorak and conqueror of lands. I'm never a weakling, and I am certainly NOT giving up against some disproportionate freak like you!"

 

Immediately, her clawed hand smashed onto a small device on her belt. In a flash and a deafening crack, the Xian disappeared, not to return.

 

Smiley shrugged. "I guess I'll find my sword and defeat my doppelganger myself."

 

*insert level: The Laboratory. Playable characters: Smiley (but without the use of his sword). Level ends in a chamber with Smiley's golden sword in a locked glass case in the center. New enemies: none.*

 

Cutscene: Glint of the Golden Sword

 

Smiley concentrated, using his powers to heat up the glass around the sword until it melted into slag. This it did instantaneously, leaving him free to snatch his weapon. Then, of course, the security alarms went off.

 

"Joy," Smiley smiled as enemies poured into the room.

 

*insert multiman brawl in that same sword room (except with the case gone).*

 

*STAGE CLEAR reward: Smiley joins team.*

Chapter 11: In Pursuit of a Warlord

 

Cutscene: An Unexpected Detour

 

Onua stopped for breath, panting heavily. "We need to find Tuma. I need all the answers I can get - the more answers we get, the quicker I get out of this Mata Nui-forsaken place."

 

"Sun getting to you, brother?" Pohatu grinned, skidding to a halt.

 

"Let's just keep moving," Onua frowned, not-so-subtly evading the question.

 

The two continued to run across the sands at insane speed. Suddenly, Pohatu yelped two words:

 

"LOOK OUT!"

 

"What?" Onua asked, and then toppled after his brother into a recently-formed portal.

 

Cutscene: Strong Resistance

 

Both Toa slammed into the ground, face-first. After a few seconds of pain, Pohatu staggered to his feet.

 

"For the love of Mata Nui, we've got to stop making entrances like this," the Toa of Stone growled. "Not only is it bad for our health, it's not exactly stealthy either…"

 

The multitudes of enemies clustered all around the room chose that moment to charge.

 

*insert multiman brawl against most of the enemies previously fought.*

 

Cutscene: Welcome to Odina

 

An armor-clad being scrambled over the fallen bodies of the Toa's enemies, wielding a wicked spear. Before they could do anything, that spear was at their throats.

 

"State your business on Odina," the creature growled.

 

"We recently fell from that portal up there," Pohatu said. "You know, the big purple swirly thing? That one, the one in the ceiling? Yeah."

 

"I am Onua and this is Pohatu," Onua said, gesturing thusly.

 

The creature's ugly face split into a horrible grin. "We have Toa," it breathed. "Be glad we recently allied with the Order, Toa, or I would have killed you both."

 

"Killed us?!" Pohatu yelped.

 

"What do you think a Dark Hunter does all day?" the creature snapped. "Honestly, you two are Pohatu and Onua. I would think that you, of all people, would know that… though you look somewhat different from how I was told…"

 

Suddenly, a thunderous crack split the air. All three whirled to see a new portal opening in the wall, again spewing out enemies of all kinds.

 

"Here we go again," Pohatu sighed.

 

"Brother, look! The portals are closing!" Onua cried.

 

"Oh, no… we'd better get out of here. Thank you for your hospitality, now good-bye!" Pohatu said, and the two Toa dashed off, leaving the "Dark Hunter" looking slightly confused.

 

*insert level: Odina. Pohatu and Onua must reach the portal at the end of the mission within a time limit. New enemies: I really think we should include some Dark Hunters, y'know?*

 

Cutscene: Leaving So Soon?

 

Pohatu was already in the portal. Onua had one leg in when a hand grabbed his shoulder. Instinctively, the Toa of Earth readied a devastating punch and whirled to see… the Dark Hunter from earlier.

 

"Toa Onua, take this!" it hissed, tossing him a small device.

 

"This is what Tuma wore," Onua remembered.

 

"Yes! I stole it from one of those Skakdi over there," the Dark Hunter explained. "I'm good with technology; a simple touch recalibrated it so that Odina is its default setting. If you need to return here, press this button here."

 

"Onua? The portal's closing," Pohatu called, his voice distorted by the space-time energy.

 

"Thank you, Hunter," Onua nodded. "I would wager that I shall see you again soon…"

 

With that, the Toa of Earth disappeared into the portal, not a moment too soon. A small bang echoed through the room as the purple energy folded in on itself, and the two Toa were thrown through the vortex of all Creation to… someplace new.

 

*STAGE CLEAR reward: none.*

Chapter 10: The Ebony Master

 

*no beginning cutscene*

 

*insert level: The Laboratory. New enemies: None. Music: this.*

 

Cutscene: The Brute

 

Gali skidded to a halt. "Tahu, look!" she whispered, pointing at the room before them.

 

Tahu took it all in. It was a chamber full of vats - but not just any vats...

 

"We need to blow those up," Tahu grinned.

 

"But what is in them?" Gali asked. "It's… green…"

 

"It's antidermis," Tahu explained, "the very substance of the Makuta. If we blow it up, he loses his power."

 

"But… that would be murder!" Gali cried.

 

Tahu raised his eyebrows. "Makuta, of all people, is worthy of death. Toa don't normally kill, sister… but I think, given the circumstances, we can make an exception. Step aside, and I'll do my thing - you know, the one where things go boom?"

 

"You'll do no such thing," a deep voice rumbled. Both Toa's eyes widened when they found its source: a powerful, armored titan rising from one of the vats. He wore armor of blue and gold, and carried a wicked double-edged sword.

 

"This can't be good," Tahu muttered. "They've got Brutaka on their side."

 

"Brutaka?" Gali asked.

 

"Order of Mata Nui agent, went bad, tried to steal the Ignika, nearly killed us all with a single blow… tell me you remember, sister," Tahu said, genuinely worried. But Gali could only shake her head.

 

"Well, in any case, we'll have to fight him," Tahu said. "And you know what? Just for you, Gali, I'll refrain from killing him. After all, he might still see the light."

 

*insert boss battle: Tahu and Gali versus Brutaka.*

 

Cutscene: Master of the Laboratory

 

The figure reclined on his obsidian throne, watching Tahu and Gali through his viewscreen. They had defeated his antidermis brute, and were proceeding to destroy the vats… no doubt they thought it would slow Makuta's conquest.

 

But they were wrong… the antidermis was not Makuta's, it belonged to another member of the Brotherhood. That member had also spawned here, only to be brutally slain by Makuta's new pawn, Tuma. It was his antidermis that was dying, dissipating… deceiving the two Toa and allowing Makuta's plan to proceed.

 

"Let's see what they do against these," he said in a whisper barely audible to his ears. His clawed hand rested in the air over a large, conspicuous red button… then he moved it to another, smaller one, and slammed his palm upon that.

 

Tahu looked around frantically. Space-time rips were opening all around the walls of the room, and all manners of enemies were climbing out. Winking at Gali, he readied his sword.

 

*insert huge multiman brawl against most of the enemies fought before. Music: 0:46-1:39 of this.*

 

*no ending cutscene*

 

*STAGE CLEAR reward: none.*